


Wake Up

by Kalliria



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 15:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11694219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalliria/pseuds/Kalliria
Summary: Steve walks down memory lane as the woman he loves sleeps in his arms. But is she really asleep? Or is there more to the situation than it seems?





	Wake Up

**Author's Note:**

> More on my tumblr: https://kalliria.tumblr.com/

The peonies were pink. Steve admired the way the morning sun shone on the petals through the open window. It reminded him of spring, of endless days spent walking around European cities, eating ice cream and enjoying the sights.

On the other side of the room, the woman lying in bed breathed in deeply, her eyes shut. Steve approached and sat on the edge, running his fingers down the length of her face. She didn’t stir, but that was to be expected. He kicked his shoes off and lied down on top of the covers, gently pulling her motionless body between his arms. He sighed at the familiar weight of her head on his chest.

* * *

_‘You should buy Bucky a dog.’_

_Steve barked a laugh, glancing at his girlfriend’s solemn face. She was sweaty and panting, her legs tangled in the sheets and her hair was a mess, but she looked lovely to him._

_‘You have to stop talking about other men when we’re in bed, doll,’ he answered, rolling them over until he was on top. ‘You’re giving me confidence issues.’_

_She scoffed and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead._

_‘Honey, if I wanted to have sex with someone else, I would. And you would know about it. But about Bucky-’_

_‘I’m not getting Bucky a dog.’_

* * *

He had. And it had only taken her less than twenty-four hours to persuade him. The puppy had brought him nothing but trouble but Bucky loved the little beast to pieces. He could still see her smug smile as he watched his best friend play with the dog.

Steve breathed in slowly. It was getting late. He would have to leave soon, away from the woman he loved and back to his shield. Back to ‘The Mission’, as she called it.

* * *

_‘You’re gone all the time!’ she yelled. ‘For Christmas, my birthday, my mom’s fucking funeral!’_

_‘I told you,’ Steve said, trying to remain calm, ‘I don’t have a choice. When S.H.I.E.L.D. calls, I gotta go.’_

_‘Oh, bullshit! Half of the time, they could have handled it without you. You don’t have to go. You just want to. Because you’re Captain fucking America and you can’t live without your fucking shield.’_

_‘Don’t you dare. There are people out there who are alive today because of me. So I’m sorry if you think your birthday is more important than their lives. It’s not.’_

_‘Fuck you. That’s not what I meant and you know it.’_

_‘What do you want me to say? I’m not going to apologize. You knew what you were getting into.’_

_‘I thought I did.’_

* * *

They didn’t fight a lot, but when they did, it was always explosive. She was brash, cruel with her words and deeply insecure. So she lashed out, inflicted as many wounds as she could and then fled to a quiet corner where she blamed herself for everything. That night, she had packed her things and disappeared for two weeks. Steve had used all the resources he had to find her but she knew how to hide. One day, she had opened the door, a tentative smile on her face, and they’d buried the fight in their past without a word.

They were good at that, ignoring things until they went away. It kept them going for years. They both knew it wasn’t healthy, burying their heads in the sand like ostriches. But they were damaged people, too fearful of losing the love of the other to point out the flaws in their relationship. Still, they were happy. God, they were so happy.

* * *

_‘Ready?’_

_Steve was face down on the ground, his hands positioned underneath his chest. She was lying on his back, her fingers clutching his shirt in excitement. Bucky was in the same position as him, with Wanda on his back. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Sam filming the whole scene._

_‘On three,’ Sam said. ‘One. Two. Three!’_

_Steve pushed on his hands, tightening his core and she laughed at the feeling. The push-up contest had been Sam’s idea, but the girls on their backs was all Tony. He was standing next to Sam, grinning as Bucky and Steve reached their fiftieth push-up._

_‘You can do it,’ his girl whispered in his ear between laughs. ‘I believe in you, baby.’_

* * *

He couldn’t remember if he’d won. But he did recall the way she’d shoved him to the wall and crashed her lips to his afterwards, in the privacy of their bedroom.

Steve smiled at the memory and tightened his hold, slipping an arm around her waist. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck, hot breaths tickling his skin. 

He had fallen in love with a storm, a breath-taking disaster of a woman. She had taken over his life almost violently and he had surrendered his heart with a single touch, tears of gratitude in his eyes. And she had given him so much.

* * *

_‘Happy 100 th birthday!’ she shouted as he entered their flat, keys still in hand. He looked up surprised, only to receive an armload of colourful balloons and between them, the soft touch of her lips on his cheek._

* * *

There were so many memories. But this was the end.

Next to the bed, the heart monitor beeped steadily. On the other side, the ventilator hummed. Steve looked at the woman he had loved for the past five years, looked at the tubes in her mouth and the needles in her arms. “Brain dead”, Bruce had called it. Total loss of brain functions.

But how could she be dead, when her skin was warm to the touch and he could feel her heart beat against his chest? How could she leave him when she was the only reason he was alive?

He couldn’t stand it. The idea of a world devoid of her laughter. Coming home to an empty apartment. Watching children play in the park, knowing that she was the only one he would have built a family with.

His entire life revolved around her. Did people really expect him to keep going? He found himself wishing to die. If only to spare him the pain of having to go on without her. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket and he knew without having to look it was Natasha, reminding him they had to get going. People’s lives depended on him.

Steve sighed deeply and tightened his hold on the unconscious woman between his arms. He brushed his lips against hers, tears escaping his eyes.

‘Goodbye, doll,’ he choked.

Without another word, he stood up, looked at her one last time and left the room. He wouldn’t be coming back.


End file.
